Gifts of Desire (46 page)

             
Her hands shook just a little as
Ceann
clasped them in his and they said their vows. 
She realized
in that moment
that these formal vows of the church were meaningless.  She had been bound to this man already, and by a
power
much stronger. 

             
Maggie’s loud weeping echoed in the small chapel, and
Ella
turned to offer the woman a smile.  Maggie gave her a wobbly smile
in return
and a nod, and
Ella
felt
Ceann
slip something onto her finger.  She looked down at her hand.  It was golden ring, the likes of which she’d never seen before.  The wide band was carved in an intricate design, and in the center, the symbol of eternity.  She looked up at
Ceann
in surprise, and he smiled.
  “Forever, my love.”

             
After the
wedding feast
,
which was remarkably elaborate
considering it had been ordered at the last minute,
there was music and dancing. 
All
of
the village was there, even some people from neighboring estates. 
             
Ethan took
Ella
’s arm to lead her to the dance floor.  He grinned unapologetically at
Ceann
.  “You have won the hand of the fair maiden, but I will have the first dance.” 

             
Ceann
glowered at him, but at
Ella
’s smile, let them go.  Ethan swept her into his arms as the spun around.  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw
Ceann
rise out of his seat to come after them, but
Gregor
held him back with a word and a grin.

             
She smiled at his possessiveness.  “It seems I have married a very jealous man.”

             
“You have married a man who has waited far too long for what you have brought him, and he has no intention of losing you.”

             
“Will you tell him now, Ethan?  He needs to know…
everything.”

             
“Aye, but not tonight, it can wait until tomorrow.”

             
“I suppo
se now you are my brother
.”  She smiled up at him and
kissed
his cheek.  “I’m glad of that, Ethan, you are a good man.”  Her smile turned devilish.  “Now we will have to get you married off so that I can have
the
sister
I’ve always wanted
.”

             
Ethan pretended to look horrified.  “Never!  I am an avowed bachelor.”

             
“Aye, and so was my new husband.” 
Ella
peered over his s
houlder.  “Watch out, Ethan.
”

             
He turned just in time to see
Ceann
closing in on them with a glare
.  “That’s enough dancing.”

             
“You never w
ere good at sharing”, Ethan groused
.

             
Ceann
scooped her up in his arms and headed for the stairs, to a cacophony of shouts and laughter.
  He didn’t care.  No power on earth could keep him from bedding his new wife
and sealing their union
, and he couldn’t wait another moment to do so.

***

             
They lay there together in the candlelight, face to face, the lengths of their
sated
bodies pressing together.  He stroked her hair softly and placed a kiss on her brow.
  She held up her hand, and the gold
ring he had given her reflected the soft light.  “It’s beautiful.  Where did you get it, on such short notice?”

             
He brushed a lock of hair from her cheek.  “I had it made, during the time you were at Iona’s, and I was searching for you.  I knew then that when I found you,
you would be my wife.”

             
She gave him a reproachful look.  “And you were so sure I would agree to be your wife?”

             
He grinned wickedly at her.  “Lass, I
told
you
, I wasn’t
going to give
you
a choice.”

             
She pummeled him with her fist.  “Rogue!  It would have served you right had I refused!”

             
He captured her fist and held it against his chest. 
“
But
I am your husband now.”

             
“Aye, you are.”

             
“Do you trust me,
Ella
?”

             
She trailed her fingers down his back, and slid one leg up over his.  “I do.”

             
He cupped her chin in his hand and raised her face to his.  “And so will you
tell me now, everything?
”

             
“Do you still want to know?  You have already
won
me,
heart and soul. 
I won’t ever leave you.”

             
Ceann
kissed her lips, pulling the bottom one gently between his teeth.  “If you ever left me, I would hunt you down, to the ends of the earth if need be
, to have you back
.  But
now
I want to know everything about you.  Tell me.”

             
She nodded slowly. 
“I will tell you all that is mine to tell,
anyhow
.” 
How to begin, after waiting so long?  “I grew up at Mandaine, a few days ride to the south.”  She paused and looked at him.  He was watching her intently, his hand absently stroking her hip.  “
My mother was a healer there, a priestess.”  She felt his hand clench
slightly
where it rested on her body, but he waited for her to continue.  “She died when I was only three.  The others took me in and raised me, and
Esme
especially was like a mother to me.  I even called her Aunt.  She taught me the healing arts.”

             
“You had no
knowledge of your
father?”

             
“No
.  No one knew who my father was, my mother never told. 
Esme
always told me it was just meant to be, and I took her at her word.  I never missed what I never had.”  She turned and tucked her head into his arm, tracing small circles on his smooth chest with one finger.  “My life there was good.  I was happy.  But I admit I always felt there was somewhere else I was meant to be
.  A few days before I first met you, I was told by the…
leaders…
that I was to go on a quest to Tulloch.  They said it was very important, and warned me well to be careful and not fail.  They said I was to find a great treasure there, but they wouldn’t tell me what to look for, only that I would know when I found it.  Malcolm and Dougal left me on the trail right before you found me.  I couldn’t believe my luck when you brought me straight to Tulloch, but then I realized it had all been part of the plan.  I started looking for something that could be a treasure, but there was nothing of value to me, but you.”  She raised her hand to touch his face, tenderly. 
Ceann
remained silent, so she continued.  “When I was told that it was you I sought and that I would give
you
a great treasure,
I was so relieved.  I never suspected, though, that
I would give you a son.”

             
She stopped speaking because
Ceann
was kissing her
again
.

             
It was time.  Ethan ran his hands through his wavy brown hair as he paced the study.  It fell back loose on his shoulders in wild disarray. 
Ceann
had the right to know everything he h
imself had so recently learned;  Iona had confided
it all to
him right before Ella had come to
Tulloch
.  B
ut the telling was not going to be easy.  How to
reveal to Ceann
that his past was never as he thought?  That secrets
had been kept and hidden, that
… the door opened, and
Ceann
came into the room, closing it behind him with a firm thud.

             
“Ethan?
  What is it?
”

             
“Sit down”, he said hesitantly. 
“T
here are things I’ve learned
, things that you have a right to know about.”

             
Ceann sat in a chair by the hearth, and looked at his friend apprehensively. 
“What are you talking about
?  What things?”

             
Ethan took a deep breath.
  Best to say it all straight out.
  “
It has to do with the past, and with who you really are.  Who
I
really am. 
Artair
, he loved your mother very much, so much that there was nothing he wouldn’t have done for her.”
             
“Aye, that he did.  My father adored her.  It nearly killed him, when she died.”
  Now
, finally,
he understood that kind of love.

             
Ethan nodded.  “I remember.  I’ve never seen such grief consume a man.”  He looked up at
Ceann
, holding his eyes.  “But
Aisleen
wanted a child.  She
desperately
wanted a child, and she could not bear one of her own.”

             
He watched as
Ceann
’s brows drew together in confusion, but went on before he could speak.
  “So he sired a child for her, that she could love and raise as her own.  He gave her her heart’s desire.”

             
Ceann
leaned forward in the
chair,
resting his elbows on his knees,
his face shrouded in disbelief.  “What do you mean?  How do you know this?” 
He’s telling the truth.  I’ve always known it, somehow
. 
God!

             
Ethan took the chair next to him.  “Because we have the same mother,
Ceann
.  We’re brothers in truth, in blood.”

             
Ceann
let his head fall forward into his
palms
, dragging his hands through his hair. 
He looked up. 
Hair
that was
the exact same shade as Ethan’s. 
My brother
.  “Iona?”
he asked weakly.

             
“Aye.  She did it for them, for your mother.  I think she could see, even then, that it was all part of a greater pla
n, a pu
zzle whose pieces needed to fit, and I’m certain
there
is
still more than she has told me.
  I think that would have been the only
way she could have given you up, for something bigger than all of us.
”

             
“I want to speak to her.”

             
Ethan nodded.  “I will bring her.”

             
“Now.”

             
“Alright.” 
Ethan stood up and walked to the door, pausing to look back at his brother.  “Are you okay?  I know what a shock it must be for you.  It was for me too.”

             
“Aye, I’m fine.”

             
After Ethan left, he remained sitting in the chair, staring at the cold hearth. 
A few short months ago, he would have been furious right now.  To think that his parents had kept this from him… he would be breaking the furniture and then riding out on Fallon to be alone, wallowing in the pain of their deception.  But not now,
not since Ella became his.  His
love for her made most everything else feel
almost inconsequential. 
Nothing, not even this sudden revelation
about his birth
, could ruin the happiness he had
so recently
found with
her
.  But it certainly did send his world into a tilt.  Iona… his birth mother.  And his father had lain with her.  Ethan… Ethan is my
brother
. 
An hour passed in an instant as he tried to sort through all
of the thoughts crashing through his head
, and
then
there was a knock on the door.